Search Results for: nursing home

Good News: LTCi Keeps People out of Nursing Homes!

July 30, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

One of the greatest fears among seniors is having to move to a nursing home. In fact, a study reports that seniors fear nursing homes more than they fear death. They don’t want to lose their independence.

And the majority of family members polled have serious concerns about their loved one suffering from neglect or mistreatment in nursing homes.

When I began selling LTCi in the late-1980s, assisted living was a new industry and facilities were hard to find. Most long term care took place in nursing homes or at home. In those days, some LTCi policies did not include assisted living coverage because it was so unknown.

Well, I’ve got some good news to share!

LTCi Can Keep People Out of Nursing Homes

Things are very different today. The 2019 Millman Long Term Care Insurance Survey is out, reporting on the current landscape of the LTCi landscape. It contains lots of good news for LTCi policyholders.

In 2013, 60% of policyholders avoided nursing homes. In 2017, only 30% of LTCi claims were for nursing homes.

People being cared for in assisted living live longer than in any other setting. LTCi claims for assisted living are now the longest and most expensive claims paid.

I expect this significant drop in nursing home admissions to continue. At least for those who are protected by their long term care insurance. Today, every traditional LTCi policy on the market will cover assisted living. This was not true years ago. Assisted living is now mainstream, popular, rapidly growing, and profitable. Happily, there are so many more choices are available.

Claims Are Getting Paid and In Record Time

The good news continues!

In 2017, payments to LTCi policyholders came to $11 billion for claims. This is a 55.9% increase in claim payments in the previous year. And claims are being paid 8% faster which means families are getting relief in a more timely manner. Expect this trend to continue.

Remember, LTCi ownership is a “long” game. The average age of LTCi purchase is 57. However, people don’t usually need to file a claim until they’re in their late 70s or well into their 80s. People who buy LTCi are realists, willing to plan for a future that’s years away.

If you’re someone who enjoys reading detailed insurance analysis, you can find the full report by clicking the image, below. And if you’re someone who likes planning for an easier future, click here to receive your free, no-obligation for long term care insurance coverage.

2019 Milliman Long Term Care Insurance Survey

One in Five Nursing Home Residents Report Abuse

June 20, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

A new study reports one in five – or about 20% of nursing home residents – have experienced at least one resident-to-resident abusive event.

This is a conundrum brought about by abysmally low pay to nursing home caregivers, and by Medicaid reimbursement rates so low it is difficult for nursing homes to stay in the black. The majority of nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid.

Here’s a blog I wrote showing nursing home workers are quitting to work at McDonald’s, where they get paid more and don’t have to mess with bedpans or possible back injuries.

The article mentions the double homicide at a nursing home not far from here. Here is a series of blogs I did about this event.

If you want to greatly increase the odds you will not wind up in a nursing home, you need to own long-term care insurance (LTCi). Most LTCi policyholders are able to remain at home or move to an assisted living facility, instead of a nursing home. The evidence is in a recent AHIP study sited here; ask and I will email the complete study to you.

TX Nursing Home Employees Quitting to Work at McDonald’s

April 12, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

According to reporters at Lubbock’s KLBK13, in a story titled, Nurses Quit Texas Nursing Homes to Work at McDonald’s, we face a dire shortage of nursing home beds by the end of this decade.

Nursing home employees, particularly certified nurse assistants, who are “front line” caregivers, get the worst pay, typically about $8/hour.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s is hiring, and they pay significantly more. Furthermore, their employees don’t have to mess with bed pans or risk injuries from transferring patients.

The story says TX nursing homes lose approximately $300 million per year. 85 percent of TX nursing home residents depend on Medicaid or Medicare. Each Medicaid patient is underfunded by 14 percent.

This dovetails with information I just received from Seven Acres, the Jewish nursing home here in Houston. Their April 2016 newsletter says, “Over 80% of our residents are so ill and indigent that they qualify for the state Medicaid program, which underfunds Seven Acres by $33,000 a year for each Medicaid resident. This translates into a $8 million annual loss for the Home. It is only through the generous support of our friends and community partners that we are able to offset the significant cost of care that Medicaid does not cover.”

Long-term care insurance (LTCi) ownership greatly increases the odds people will not receive care in a nursing home. Even the very best nursing homes – like Seven Acres – struggle with staffing shortages.

I’ve already sent Seven Acres my annual contribution.

Nursing Homes Imperiled

January 1, 2015 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Happy New Year, all!

I gave a larger than average end-of-year donation to Seven Acres, the Jewish nursing home here in Houston. It has a reputation of being top notch, in relative terms. It is as top notch as possible for a Medicaid-accepting, money-losing nursing facility. I have heard from friends with loved ones at Seven Acres that there are too few caregivers. Loved ones often wait a long time for help to come. Seven Acres is the best that any primarily Medicaid-funded nursing home can be. Unfortunately, even the best Medicaid-funded nursing homes have too few caregivers and tend to be warehouses for the elderly and infirm.

Here are just a few of the blogs I’ve done on the unsustainable state of long-term care (LTC) finance in the US: /?s=nursing+home. Because Medicaid pays less than it actually costs to provide care, most facilities run in the red. This causes them to cut corners on the quantity and therefore, the quality of care they can provide.

In its annual solicitation letter, Seven Acres states that in 2013, it “provided over $8 million in charitable care to over 85% of its resident population who rely solely on inadequate Medicaid funding.”

I feel bad knowing that my donation is a drop in the bucket and will not help with Seven Acres’ over all financial problems.

Increased demand for long-term care (LTC) and decreased Medicaid reimbursements will cause Seven Acres to continue to run in the red, in what I foresee as a continued downward spiral.

My donation will have no effect on potential changes and reforms that will be necessary to preserve Medicaid-paid LTC for our most vulnerable citizens. It will also have no effect on making political changes that are necessary to gain control over our country’s out-of-control Medicaid expenses.

The moral: take charge of your own future dignity and choices with a reasonably priced LTC insurance policy.

Nursing Home Infections Are Increasing…Surprise (Not!)

October 17, 2014 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Here’s an October 9, 2014 article from McKnight’s LTC News describing recently published findings that show across the board infection rates in nursing homes have surged during the past five years.

Quoting from the article, “The prevalence of viral hepatitis in nursing homes increased 48% between 2006 and 2010, the investigators determined. MDRO prevalence increased by 18% and pneumonia by 11%. The rates of urinary tract infections, septicemia and wound infections also rose.”

Here are several additional blogs I’ve done about Medicaid’s shortcomings. Because most long-term patients in nursing homes are on Medicaid (a form of Welfare), and because Medicaid’s reimbursement to nursing homes is actually less than the cost of caring for such patients, many nursing homes are unprofitable. We all agree that the most important employees in nursing homes are the custodial caregivers. These are the lowest paid people on the economic totem pole. Counter-intuitively, these critical frontline caregivers are often the first place nursing homes fire to cut expenses.

My opinion is that because of inadequate care in many Medicaid-funded nursing homes, corners are cut. Quality of care suffers. Sad outcomes then occur. This is what is causing the rapid rise of nursing home infections. It is not hard to connect the dots on this one.

Many nursing home patients end up in such facilities because they do not have money to access better care. People who own long-term care insurance (LTCi) are far less likely to wind up in Medicaid-funded nursing homes. They are far more likely to end up in preferable, far nicer assisted-living facilities.

Search Results for: nursing home

Good News: LTCi Keeps People out of Nursing Homes!

LTCi Can Keep People Out of Nursing Homes

Claims Are Getting Paid and In Record Time

One in Five Nursing Home Residents Report Abuse

TX Nursing Home Employees Quitting to Work at McDonald’s

Nursing Homes Imperiled

Nursing Home Infections Are Increasing…Surprise (Not!)

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